Roses and thorns: 12/9/12

December 8, 2012 8:25:25 PM

A rose to Mississippi State University football player Johnthan Banks, who was chosen as the winner of the 2012 Jim Thorpe Award on Thursday, the highest national honor a Bulldog football player received in its 113-year history.

The Thorpe Award is presented to the nation's top defensive back. Banks was a semifinalist last year as a junior. It's a particularly nice story, given that Banks came to MSU not with the fanfare of a top recruit, but as a player overlooked after his standout career at East Webster High School in Maben. Talent emerges, even from obscurity.

A rose to all the merchants and participants who gathered in downtown Columbus Friday evening for the ninth annual Wassail Fest, an event made even more festive by the lighting of the city Christmas tree. Thousands arrived downtown to raise a cup of Christmas cheer through wassail varieties from the 31 participating downtown businesses. We won't know the official winner of the Wassail Fest until later in the week, but the unofficial winners were everyone who participated.

A rose to Golden Triangle Link CEO Joe Max Higgins who told the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors it was time to hold Silicor's proverbial feet to the fire. Silicor's delay in beginning work on its facility in Columbus has, until this point, been greeted with much patience on the part of the county. But it's time to put up (in the form of $150,000 in escrow and a Dec. 31 deadline to start work on the site) or shut up. The supervisors agreed with Higgins and voted to make those conditions known to Silicor officials. It is time Silicor shows good faith by beginning work on this project or moves on.

A rose to the legacy of state senator Benny Turner (D, West Point), who died last week at the age of 64. Turner represented the people of the 16th District (which includes portions of Clay, Oktibbeha and Lowndes counties) in a quiet, effective way. His dignified approach and commitment to the people of his district are qualities to be emulated. He will long be remembered.